Olof a



o. A. EcKRE., SPRING WHEEL'. APPIICATION FILED SEPT- I8. 1917 Patented Oct. 7, 1919.

TME COLUMBIA PLANUGRQPH cn.. WASHINGTON, n. r.

FFCE.

OLOF A. ECKRE, OF'IKINDRED,'NORTH DAKOTA.

srRINe-WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Eatent.A Patented Oct. 7, 19119. A

Originaapplicaton lilediI/Iay 8, 1917, Serial No. 167,333. `iurided and this application filed September 18,

1917. serial No. 192,091.

To aZZ whom may concern.'

Be it known Athat I, OLror` A. ECKRE, a

citizen of the United States, residing at` Kindred, in the county ofA Cass and State of North. Dakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spring-Wheels, of which the following is a specification.

My presentA application, which forms a divisional part of mycopending application,

Serial No. 167 ,333, filed MayS, 1917, pat-v ented March 12, 19118, No. 1,259,004, has reference `to that class of vehicle wheels,.the

tire or tread portion of whichis formed. lofV a series of resilient members assembledto i forl being form a continuous tread, andmeans4 for holding theY entire mass of the said members in rigid relation o n the rim and adapted individuallyput into place or removed asrequired. Y i

.. iMy present invention seeks. to provide an improved construction Vof rim combined with andinproved tread portion including arch shaped springs adapted for being "individ ually placed in operative condition relativelyV tothe mass of springs that form the complete tirefor` tread surface and a simple and effective means for lockingup the :said mass Ofi arch shaped springmembers and holding them'upon the wheel rim in such rigid condition, wherebyto presenta tread or tire surface ofgreat tractive powerand particularly adaptedfor heavy trucksand l like vehicles.

:With ,other `objects in Aview, my present invention consists in the peculiar construction and novel combination .of Vthe parts hereinafter explained, specifically vpointed out in the appended'claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which v- Figure 1 is. an elevation, parts'being -in section, of a spring wheel embodying my invention. f 't j Fig. f2 is a transverse section of a portion thereof, taken on the line .2-`-2 Von Eig. ,1. y. v Fig.3 is aldetail cross section through the Wheelri-mand illustrates, the simplest formv `of my spring wheel rim construction. Y Fig. A. is Ya similar vview that ,illustrates a modified form of myinvention and Vmore `especially adaptedA for -heavy vtrucks and v other. like-vehicles.`

.4' f igu'isa diagrammaticlelevation, partly ciic` construction of which is shown in de-` Jtail inFig'. ,3, 4by? reference to which it will beseen Athat' the `free ends of thespring wire are4 bent back to form circular loops 10-10 designed vforfbeing edgewise fitted intoengag'ernentv with @annular i circular pockets 2Q-20 formedin-the oppositeedgesof the rim or', felly2, .-which'may be shaped up of segmental section s'but is lpreferably a single member @split at one Vpo1nt,vas indicated by .21 (see Fig. 6) whereby the ends may be readilyspread apart for inserting the thread rings 1, one at a time insuccessive contactrelation untila complete `annular tread is built upon the peripheral face ofthe felly or rim. y t 't VFor holding the spring rings Vor tread portions `in vvrigid relation and in proper place upon the rim 2, I employ the locking meansbestshownin Figsl and 6 in which @-451 designate a pairjof angled brackets that Aare secured by rivetbolts 40 to the adjacent split ,rim edgesand the latter are held closed together a clamp boltland nut 41' that passes through the abutting members 42a ofthe brackets 4a, as is 'clearly shown in Figsl-and. :i' Y t The body of the Wheel in the fconstruction shown in therdrawing includes -a series of springspokes `6, all of which are constructed alikel and consist each of a substantially V- shaped"main-heavy fiat spring member 60 and a supplemental like shaped spring member 61 of less thickness thanl the main spring member 60 and of somewhat less length Athan the said member V60, as is clearly shownrin Fig. ,1, from Vwhich it willlbe `also seen that 'the member 6ll lies on the inner faceof the pockets 51 in the hub casing 5 and are securely held by V-shaped clamps 7 secured down against the bent or loop ends of the spring members 60-and- 61 by wedge shaped cross bolts S that pass through slots 80 in the hub plate 22 and have their threaded or bolt ends 81 extended through suitable apertures 90 in 'the hub'plate 9 and secured by nuts 91, it being understood that by tightening upV the nuts 91, the wedge bolts 8 will be drawn down into a crotch of the V-shaped clamp 7 that secures the inner ends of the spring` spoke members and the hub.

11-11 designate other bolts `that fasten the hub plate 9 in the desired fixed position on vthe hub. Y

Each of the radial'hub members in the construction shown in the drawings, between which the inner ends oi" the springs 60 and 61 are secured.' have outwardly projected lugs 12-12 that form side bearings for one of the edges of the springs 60 and 61 and the V-shaped clamp'7 has like lugs 70-70 that engage the opposite side edges of the springs 60 and 61 and the said two opposing lugs 12 and 70 serve to hold the inner ends of the springs 60 and 61 from buckling laterally, the hub plate 22 also materially aiding in holding the hub and spring connections in rigidrelation to prevent dishing of the wheel at the hub portion thereof.

The outer ends of the main spring vmenibers 60 are bent and formed into S-shaped bearing portions and the said portions ter.- minate in circular loops 62 that seat in circular-like sockets v15a in bearings 16 secured to the rim or elly by bolts16?, see Figs. 1, 2, 3V and 4, in which figures is also shown side plates 1 7 and 17a, one 'of which, 17, is L Shaped and has one portion extended through a groovevin the bearing block 16.

. The other plate 17al is removably Secured, at

one end, to the bearing 16 and adjacent the socket 15 and also to the other plate 17, by bolt connections 19. Y Y

At the other or inner ends, the plates 17 and 172L are connected by a pair of cross bolts 1534-18, see Figs. 1 and 2,'which bolts also serve as guides and braces for theA spring spokes 6.

n Fig.4 is illustrated a modified form of the rim structure and the same embodies thegeneral characteristics oit' the rim construction shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The said modified form is more particularly intended for heavy vehicles and tractors and it has a tire structure in which the tread or tractive surface is composed of independent stout wire spring members, each formed in two distinct arched ring portions 4-40, the opposing ends of which terminate in circular loops 41-41 and between the said loops 41-41 the wire is bent into va central loop 42.` l In the latter ormV ofl my invention, the

rim 65 has its opposite edges made with annular pockets 63-63 and along the middle it has a semi-circular internally extended annular groove or pocket 44 that receives against the other assembled -tire rings, it

being understood that the same kind of means is used for locking the rim ends t0- gether as in the other form of my invention, for connecting the `said ends of the said modified rim structure.

To secure the double arched spring rings along their central annular line, a clamp Vring 46 yis provided that holds the said double tire'along the center of the rimand to take up slack, the said ring 46 may have its ends joined by turn buckle connections of any approved construction.

rllhe spoke structure and the means for securing the spokes to the hub are the same as are the -like parts; in the single tread tire structure.

From the foregoing description read in connection with the drawings, the complete construction of both :forms of my spring wheel will be readily understood.v i

While the spoke and hub structure shown anddescribed4 provides Vfor a uniform resilient hanging of the hub, relatively' tothe rim, the spring tread will take up the jars and shocks incident from road condition and also aid in giving the wheel the desired amount oli' resiliency without rendering it twist strains. j The cooperative connection of the parts that constitute the wheel is such, that the said parts may be easily assembled in their proper operative relation,'securely held and also adapted for being Yeasily disconnected in case of repairs. 1

unstable and subject to undue lateral or Instead of making allV of the tread units of round wire, they may be made'of alternate round and flat wire members,`as indicated in Fig. 5 of the drawings.

What Iclaim is:

1. In a spring wheel, thecombination j with a rim; of a tread tire composed of arched spring wires sidewise assembledto form a continuous resilient body, the saidV 2. In a spring wheel, the combination with i al split rim having annular pockets at the opposite edges; of a tread tire composed of a series of arched spring members whose ends terminate in loops `adapted for being endwise inserted between the split ends of the rim 'with the loops arranged for being slid into the rim pockets, whereby an assembled set of springs is mounted on the periphery of the rim, and means for clamping the rim against being spread, whereby to hold the said assembled spring members in rigid relation on the rim.

3.v In a spring wheel, the combination with a metal split rim having annular pockets at the opposite edges and an annular groove midway the said edge pockets; of a tread composed of ya series of springi wires each rim, means for holding the centrally looped v portions of the assembled spring wires down in the annular groove in the rim and means for closing up and locking the ends of the split rim togethen whereby to provide a resilient tire of assembled double arched shaped spring wire loops held in close contact and extending entirely around the vehicle rim.

4. In a spring wheel, the combination with a split rim having an annular pocket at each edge; of'a tire composed of arched spring units, each of which has its opposite ends bent into circular loops adapted for being edgewise inserted between the ends of the split rim for slidably engaging the annular pockets on the rim and bent into a central loop between the circular loops, and means whereby tov hold the said arched spring units in rigid relation around the rim.

OLOF A. ECKRE.

Copies o! this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

